All was not well at Phantomhive manor. The head of the household was a wreck and it wasn't helping anyone. He hardly acknowledged the presence of either of the Mackens, and he only acknowledged Sebastian's presence when it was relevant to finding Alois. So far, they had found nothing.

The two demons swept the area of the Thames where Alois went missing for clues, but found nothing. Part of Ciel wanted to believe that it was the work of the Scarlet Order, but there was nothing to confirm that they had anything to do with this. With no leads, Ciel was forced to sit around and wait for Intel to find something, anything that could lead to Alois' whereabouts and it was starting to take it's toll.

Ciel never smiled anymore. He was aggressive and snapped at people easily. When discussing the findings of team who was officially assigned to the task of searching the river, Ciel picked up the man in charge of the project by the collar and lifted him to the air. He shouted, terrifying the poor man, for committing the sin of inadvertently suggesting that Alois may be dead. From then on, Ciel was temporarily banned from the operation completely and it was driving him mad.

Sometimes, Elizabeth would come visit him in hopes of reassuring him, but he did not want to see her. The time that she pushed past and did reach his office, she found the man seated on Alois' side of the dual desk. He was staring down blankly at his husband's recovered pistol as it rested on the desk's surface while fiddling with his ring. The man looked distraught beyond belief as if he might break at any moment.

"Cie-"

"I don't want to see anyone." the man said before Elizabeth could even get a word out. He didn't look up, or give any physical sign of acknowledgment. "Go away."

"Locking yourself away won't fix it." his cousin replied, walking into the room without his permission. "I've come all of this way this time, and don't you dare think you can get rid of me that easily."

Ciel didn't say anything right away. Instead, he lifted his head and looked in her direction. On his face was a rather testy expression, as he really wasn't keen on having company.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to get her to leave as quickly as possible.

"I want you to talk to me." Elizabeth said. "You need to talk to someone. Anyone, really. I won't let you go back to your old ways."

"Until my husband is back home safely, I am allowed to be upset."

"That is true, but you need to process it and not let it fester."

"How can I not? I'm not allowed to investigate, and I have no leads." Ciel stated. "I have no resources. I have nothing. All I have is this gun! What good does that do me?!"

His voice raised as he spoke, forcing the woman to take a deep breath to keep her own composure. Taking a seat on one of the sofas, Elizabeth crossed one leg over the other and got comfortable, as she was not going anywhere until they talked about Ciel's problem. She was not going to allow him to slip any further. Alois wouldn't want it that way and neither does she.

"You were booted because of your behaviour." she reminded. "You have to go about things calmly on the business end."

"It's impossible to be calm. Not when he's missing and possibly in the clutches of that man." Ciel snapped. "He's been missing for days and there's been no sign of him!"

"Finding missing people is difficu-"

"I know how hard it is!" shouted the Watchdog, slamming his hands on the desk. He snarled and bared his teeth, causing the woman's eyes to widen. This was not like Ciel. This was not like Ciel at all. His calm demeanor was nonexistent now as he immediately pounced on whoever dared to speak to him.

"Missing persons have been part of my job for years, Elizabeth, but it's never been like this!" He continued. "I've never been powerless against the forces at work. And Araneus! That man cannot be with him! You know what he did! What he did to my Jim!"

"Ciel..." Elizabeth tried to speak during a moment of pause, but she had nothing to say. She couldn't think of anything that would quell Ciel's rage or soothe his anxiety. The man was a mess. He tried to run a hand through his hair to calm himself, but it did nothing. Instead, it stayed there momentarily before he started to pull.

"That monster cannot be anywhere near Jim!" he stated. "He could be scared! Or worse! What if- Wh-what if..."

His hand fell to cover his face. It was flushed and his voice no longer sounded angry. He sounded afraid. He was, too; like he's never been. The thought of what could possibly be happening to his husband was almost too much for him to bear.

"Oh, Ciel..." the woman began, her voice laced with concern as she stood up and walked toward the desk. Slowly, she sat on it's edge and with much hesitation, placed a hand on his shoulder before rubbing it in a soothing fashion. "It's going to be okay..."

"But what if it isn't?" the bluenette asked, trying to conceal the strain in his voice. "What if… What if… it… happens again? Jim's worked so hard… He's healed so much… He has the personal strength to move mountains… But… If it does happen… All of that would be undone… It would break him, and… I'm not sure if he can heal…" There was a pause before he concluded.

"My Jim..." the Phantomhive said. His free hand moved to cover his face as well and Elizabeth looked away.

She pretended not to hear the crack in her cousin's tone. She wanted to preserve his dignity. Never before had she seen the man like this. Well, perhaps when they were little, before the fire. Ciel was so vulnerable. He appeared fragile, almost. All of that anger, aggression, and quickness to blame was only a front. Elizabeth knew it was. She knew it from a hundred years ago. This time, however, it wasn't from his own pain and suffering. It was from empathy and concern for the one he loved. Ciel had come a long way.

Never in her life did she expect to see Ciel expressing what he was feeling again. Deep down, he was the same as the child that he was before. He was still shy and he was still kind. He still cared about other people, especially those who were close to him. It was just that he never showed it. The man had built a tough shell around himself that was impenetrable to even the closest of relatives. It was Alois who broke it. It was Alois that drew him out now. At long last, Elizabeth could tell what her cousin was feeling, but she didn't want him to be feeling this. Ciel was afraid. He was distraught over his beloved and there was nothing anyone could do but return the menace to him safe and sound.

"I'm sorry..." the woman said. "I'm so, so, sorry, Ciel… We're doing everything we can. Just remember that Alois is tough. He's held his own against Araneus more than once."

"Still..." Ciel replied. "What if this time, he can't? The one time that I'm not there to help him?" Peeking through his fingers, he made sure that the woman wasn't looking his way before removing his hands and wiping his cheeks with his sleeve.

"Wouldn't you have sensed it?" Elizabeth inquired. "You can tell when he's injured and even when he's distressed with sixth sense. That contract of yours will do it."

"True…" the man answered. "I still can't help but worry… I want him home..."

"He'll come home." his cousin replied. "Sooner than you know it. Have faith."

"I have faith in him..." Ciel said. "That can't stop me from worrying about him, though..."


A/N: Fucking...

There was actually info that's important that needed introducing, but I couldn't get it to fit without ruining the moment.

I'm sorry.

Still, this was pretty important, right?

Poor bab.

Soon, Ciel, soon...

No, YOU'RE tearing up...

I'm not...

Really...

Not really, actually, I'm such a wimp...

Until the next chapter, my duckies~!